Mise en Scene in the Film Yellow Earth :: Movie Film Essays

Mise en Scene in the Film Yellow Earth The Film Yellow Earth uses its own unique style of editing within the frame to portray its aesthetic qualities, which is known as mise en scene. The scene where father is plowing the land with Gu by his side is the best example of mise en scene. This scene is important because of its possession of a unique camera angle, loose framing, and deeper hidden meaning, which contribute to the overall effect of the movie. First and foremost, this scene uses a low angle shot. In the shot the camera tilts the camera upwards while getting a whole shot of father and Gu in the frame while also getting the yellowish hills and sky in it as well. The director uses a low angle shot in order to convey the meaning of how important the land was to the people. If he would of chosen to do a high angle shot it would have denied the reader of viewing the yellowish hills in the background. Those hills are symbolic of the trapping qualities of both fates, nature and society, the core principle of the movie. It was the spectator’s figurative position that was closely tied to the views of father and Gu. Next, Yellow Earth uses editing in the movement through its use of loose framing. In the scene, the characters had full motion. The director used this full motion of father and Gu in order for the viewer to get a glimpse of the actual work that took place. This strenuous manual labor would be grueling for any man. This work showed the viewer that the family was trapped in a life chained to the fields of rural China, a fate that young Cuiqiao wished to escape. Lastly, this scene does a great job by creating a symbolic, underlying meaning of what father actually believed in.